Man arrested after shootout with police in west St. Louis

ST. LOUIS - Police are investigating after gunshots were fired towards officers Monday morning in west St. Louis.

According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD), two officers received a call for shots fired around 5:30 a.m. at an apartment complex in the 1600 block of Hampton Ave.

SLMPD's Major Janice Bockstruck, said the incident began after a man broke into an basement unit and got ahold of a gun.

Police say the man shot up the unit, which was empty, before opening fire again while attempting to enter an occupied unit next door. After the man failed to enter the unit, police say the suspect left out the apartment building through a back door.

Responding to the incident, two officers arrived at the scene and went inside a unit to begin investigating as a third officer arrived outside to assist. At

According to police, the officer outside noticed the man with a gun approaching the building his colleagues were in, "constantly" giving demands to the suspect. He notified those officers indoors, who went to the door to investigate.

Officers opened the door, and were fired upon, according to officials. The door was immediately closed by police.

The officer outside continued demands when the suspect began running towards him, and the officer then fired at the suspect but did not hit him. The suspect later surrendered in the complex's parking lot.

"Today, we almost had an officer killed---gunfire nearly striking that officer. Thankfully, they're going to be going home to their families. It was a very, very close call," Mitch McCoy, spokesperson for SLMPD, said.

SLMPD's preliminary investigation reveals that the suspect, a man believed to be in his early 30s, lives at the complex.

No one was injured during the shooting. The suspect is in police custody.

This is a developing story; FOX 2 will provide additional information once it comes into the newsroom.